Isla meets with Pujol during his family's trial

San Fernando de HenaresWhile the trial of the Pujol Ferrusola family continues at the National Court – accused, among other things, of illicit association and money laundering – Salvador Illa has made a second approach to Jordi Pujol and Soley. Following their first meeting as part of the round of talks Isla held with former presidents of the Generalitat, the two met last Friday at the Palau de Pedralbes because the current Catalan president wanted to inquire about Pujol's health. Pujol had been hospitalized a few weeks prior with pneumonia, as confirmed to ARA by sources within the Generalitat. This news was first reported by the newspaper. The VanguardThis coincides with the fourth day of the trial, which is being held in San Fernando de Henares. Three weeks ago, the National Court decided to continue the trial despite medical reports advising against it because the defendant is not in a condition to defend himself.

The major development today was that the court overruled its predecessor and accepted the testimony of key figures in the patriotic police force. The court "has no objection," but sought to limit their testimony as much as possible and will require that the connection between the questions and the case be clearly defined. Those who will testify are José Manuel Villarejo – a retired National Police commissioner –, Eugenio Pino – former Deputy Director of the Police (DAO) –, Marcelino Martín-Blas – former head of the Internal Affairs Unit –, Celestino Barroso – former Interior Ministry attaché at the embassy in Andorra –, and Bonifa Nacional.

"The aspects are striking, to say the least, and the court wants to have a minimum level of understanding in order to reach a fully informed decision," acknowledged José Ricardo de Prada. The decision has come as a surprise to some of the defense teams. It is clear to everyone that the announcement was made by the very judge to whom the harshest words in the Gürtel case ruling are attributed—the ruling that prompted Pedro Sánchez's motion of no confidence against Mariano Rajoy, and who authorized the summoning of the then Spanish Prime Minister and leader of the PP as a witness during the trial.

The first witnesses

The first three witnesses also testified. The first to speak was Cristina Isabel de Francisco Cotorruelo, who was Jordi Pujol Ferrusola's personal secretary and the sole employee of the companies he owned with his wife, Mercè Gironès. She worked as an administrator, organizing trips for the eldest son—for example, to Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Gabon, and the United States—and preparing invoices with the information he provided. Furthermore, in 2001, she appeared as the sole shareholder of Project Marketing, one of the companies owned by the former president of the Generalitat's eldest son and his wife. However, she claimed it was an "administrative error" by the advisors, who had given her name, and that they proceeded with it "to avoid delays." When the eldest son returned from his trip, she sold him the shares—50% to him and 50% to his wife—and the matter was resolved.

Next up was Núria Pujol Gironès, daughter of Jordi Pujol Ferrusola and Mercè Gironès. The focus was on a €585,000 transfer her father made to her in July 2014, which she used to buy the property one of his companies owned on Ganduxer Street. At the time, the National Court suspected it was a money laundering scheme, but she maintained it was the means for her to become independent. Her parents agreed to it when they divorced: "It was so I could buy the apartment I live in now," she explained. She was the only daughter living in Spain, had a low income, and couldn't afford to live alone or share an apartment. She moved there in 2016, when she got married.

Mercè Gironès' lawyer, Oriol Rusca, emphasized the role her mother played within the family. "She was at home with us and took care of us. As far as I remember, she didn't have a salary; my father was the one who worked," Núria Pujol Gironès initially stated in response to questions from the prosecutor. Rusca then pressed her: "Was she involved in business?" he asked. "My mother didn't work with my father," she replied. "Did she have any business or commercial knowledge?" he reiterated. "No, she started studying law, lasted a year, and then went back to work with her father," recalled her daughter, who also stressed that the divorce was "hard and very complicated" for her.

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